After Deaths Of Loved Ones, South Side Funeral Singer Decides To Join Chicago Police Department

Southside resident Trishaun Coleman knows all too well what it feels like to lose a loved one to gun violence. The 21-year-old became known as a funeral singer after performing for several of her friends’ memorials.

But losing her boyfriend in 2012, and her cousin just this summer, pushed her to make a change. She ditched her dream of becoming a singer to pursue a career as a Chicago police officer.

We talk to Trishaun about the loss she’s endured and what she hopes to bring to the Chicago Police Department and her community.

Sanctuary Cities: An Explainer

This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel went on record to reassure immigrants that Chicago would “always will be a sanctuary city.”

The statement follows the election of Donald Trump who has threatened to block federal funding for cities that refuse to cooperate with deportation forces under his administration.

We take a step back to explain what a sanctuary city is, what Chicago’s policies currently are, and how plausible the President-elect’s threats are with Angela Garcia, a professor of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

DACA Student Ponders Life In The Trump Era

According to federal data, Illinois has the third most recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, otherwise known as DACA, in the country. One of those applicants is Karla Robles, an undocumented student at Loyola University who is attending school thanks in large part to the DACA program. The 2012 executive order gave undocumented children, brought to the United States as minors, renewable two-year periods of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.

But with the election of Donald Trump comes fears that the immigration policy will be repealed, leaving those recipients’ future hanging in the balance. So what’s next for the thousands of undocumented minors who came out of the shadows to register for the DACA program? Morning Shift talks to Robles about how DACA impacted her life and what fears she has as inauguration day creeps closer.

‘Tumbao’ Brings Chicago Gentrification And Latino Cultural Identity To The Stage

The last time we spoke to Wendy Mateo and Lorena Diaz on Morning Shift, they were kicking off their acting careers after gaining popularity with their Youtube skits. 

Now, the Chicago comedy duo known as Dominizuelan have a play at the Steppenwolf Theater called Tumbao. 

Morning Shift talks with Lorena and Wendy about how the play tackles gentrification, cultural identity and everyday conversations in Latino families…all while making you laugh. 

Today’s Slang Is Lit, And That’s A Good Thing

Here at the Morning Shift we ask the important questions: Like, “why is everything ‘lit?’” Every generation is known to create their own slang terms to communicate. But millennials are growing up with Twitter and Tumblr at their fingertips and new internet terms seem to pop up daily. With the holiday’s approaching, we want to help our listeners decode the teenage-speak they will hear at the dinner table.

Morning Shift talks with Kevin Smith, an editor at Buzzfeed and Jonathon Green, a lexicographer and author of Green’s Dictionary of Slang, about the history of slang terms and why you need to know what ‘woke’ means.

Transit Advocates Encourage Pedestrian Routes To Combat Safety

The community of Bronzeville has boomed in the last few years with many dubbing it Chicago's 'black metropolis.' But with a growing neighborhood comes concerns over safety. One transit advocate, Ronnie Matthew Harris, and his team at GoBronzeville are encouraging biking, public transit, and walking as a way to combat those concerns plus enhance the neighborhood.

Morning Shift went to Bronzeville and spoke with Harris about his vision for the community and why he's so determined to make his hometown pedestrian friendly.

How Are You Coping With Election-Related Anxiety?

If the presidential debate has you feeling hopelessness, angry or anxious, you’re not alone.

After weeks of writing about politics, Slate columnist Michelle Goldberg had trouble sleeping and developed nightmares about the campaign. So she decided to “sublimate” her anxieties into her work and reached out to therapists to see if others were also feeling the stress.

Turns out they were.

But what is it about this election that is affecting our mental health? Goldberg joined Morning Shift to share what she discovered researching what she called “Trump-induced anxiety.”

A primer on Third Party Politics in America

Third party candidates have a long history of trying to break the two-party mold in U.S. Presidential elections. There was Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000. This year Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson could pull six percent of the popular vote if today’s polls are any indication. But how would that affect the ultimate outcome? 

Morning Shift talks with Julia Azari, a political science professor at Marquette University, about the past and present state of third parties in presidential elections.